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January 5, 2014

The Word
Became Flesh

In the movies
where this is a conflict between good and evil, there is often a long period of
time in which the bad guys are planning their crime of the century. Those crimes usually take place during the
night when everything is dark. That
makes sense, right? It is easier to hide
the action and escape without getting caught.

Then just as the criminals think
that they’ve gotten away with their actions, an alarm is triggered with lights
flashing and loud sirens going off. Then
suddenly light starts pouring over the evil thieves from cop cars, flashlights,
and floodlights. The bad guys have been
exposed, they are caught in the act, and they cannot hide. Good has once again trumped evil for another
day.

This very popular movie sequence is
the basis for most good vs. bad scenarios.
It is ingrained in our heads…the color black stands for evil and white
represent good. But it isn’t simply a
movie phenomenon. The origins of these
categories go back to Biblical times.

We will go a little deeper on this subject in a
minute but first let’s take a look at the first 5 verses of today’s text. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. All
things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into
being. What has come into being in him
was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the
darkness did not overcome it.”

In the beginning (at the beginning of
creation), the Word was already present with God, and HE was God. Isn’t this just a little mind-bending? The WORD was with and was
God! Everything came into being through
him. Through who? The WORD.
Let’s go back to the creation story in Genesis 1:1. “In the beginning when God created the
heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the
face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God SAID, ‘Let there be light’;
and there was light.”

Isn’t it interesting that creation of light was
the first thing that God created?
Darkness already covered the face of the deep! And how did God create light? He SAID it…he created through the Word. “All things came into being through him, and
without him not one thing came into being.” If God didn’t speak something into creation,
it wasn’t created. Therefore the Word
was involved in all of creation.

Back to the Gospel of John. “What has come into being in him was life,
and the life was the light of all people.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” Skipping ahead to verse 9, “The
true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.”

What is the Word that was with God and was
God? The words that we speak help others
understand us. Our words define who we
are. The makeup of our character, our
personality, and our very spirits are recognizable through the words of our
mouth. Within a short period of time, we
will judge someone we’ve just met based on their speech. Accent, grammar usage, volume, clarity, choice
of words, and other qualities quickly affect our perception of another person.

And not only our words, but also our actions,
right? Watching a person’s actions
heavily emphasizes our views of them.
Are they acting friendly, disrespectfully, compassionately or
rudely? Get this…While we differentiate
words from action (‘Do as I say, not as I do’ or ‘walk the talk’) as two
separate in individual activities, God has the ability to do both at once. He spoke AND acted (created) through the
WORD! His very being, which is based on
truth, love, justice, and mercy, existed as his Word that became life.

Turn to John 1 verse 14. “And the Word became flesh and lived among
us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of
grace and truth.” Look back to verses 3
and 4, “What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of
all people.” The Word that was with
God and was God became a human being in the birth of Jesus.

He is the light for all people, shining truth
and grace upon us. We like the midnight
crime villains have been exposed by the truth and grace of Christ. Jesus (the light) knows every thought, every
desire, and every action that you and I have ever had. We cannot hide from God’s light. And while his light exposes us, it renews us
with the warmth of his love and forgiveness and provides guidance for our
journeys.

The Word became flesh. We don’t have to fear truth. We can be real with God and with ourselves
trusting his promise of abundant life and his everlasting presence. Thanks be to God. Amen.